INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY SUB-COMMITTEE
CANADA ROOM, MARKHAM CIVIC CENTRE
JANUARY 24,
2006
MINUTES
Attendance
Committee:
Regional Councillor B. O’Donnell, Chair
Regional Councillor J. Jones
Councillor S. Daurio
Other Members of Council:
Deputy Mayor F. Scarpitti
Councillor A. Chiu
Staff:
Andy Taylor, Commissioner of Corporate Services
James Allen, Chief Information Officer
Janet Carnegie, Director, Corporate Communications
John Swan, Manager, Client Delivery
Sugun Rao, Manager, Technology
Nasir Kenea, Manager, Applications and GIS
Judy Kee, Committee Clerk
The Information Technology Sub-Committee convened at the hour of 9:05 a.m. with Regional Councillor B. O’Donnell in the Chair.
1. INFORMATION
TECHNOLOGY STRATEGIC PLAN UPDATE
Mr. James Allen, Chief Information Officer, provided an update on the IT Strategic Plan, and advised that he would be directing specific emphasis on the Portal project.
He summarized the process which has been followed since IBM had originally developed the Strategic Plan in 2004, and reminded Members that the Portal Business Value Assessment (BVA) was completed and presented to Committee in November of 2005.
The CIO noted that in keeping with Markham’s Mission of providing high quality municipal services that meet, if not exceed, the expectations of Town residents and businesses, Portal is a key IT infrastructure that is becoming a basic component used in the delivery of municipal e-services. He noted that it is expected that in the future, residents and the business community in Markham will expect to receive all services through the internet, and Portal would be the best way to accomplish this.
He
reviewed the Portal capabilities which had been previously identified by the
BVA, and provided an estimate of operational efficiency benefits, but noted
that more productivity improvements and efficiencies could be achieved.
Details
relating to options for either creating a portal for
Committee
discussed matters related to the options provided, including: deliverables;
hardware, consulting and training requirements; costs involved; efficiencies
and savings; feasibility of collaboration with Region; the need to acquire more
information from Miami-Dade,
The CIO advised that the purpose of this presentation was to obtain feed-back from Committee regarding the direction to be taken. A report regarding Portal will be presented to General Committee for approval at a later time.
Members reviewed the recommendations presented by staff as follows:
1) In 2006,
work with the Region to create the governance quickly, define portal
requirements
and
begin implementation in 2006;
- staff will provide monthly updates to Committee, or if necessary, an emergency
meeting could be scheduled
2) The
process should be open to other OneYork partners at the right time;
- staff was requested to approach
other groups,
such as the local schools boards,
to determine
their interest in this initiative; also
3) Focus should
be on phase 1 of external portal first, with planning only for internal portal
for
2006;
-
Committee agreed that focus should be on external Portal
4) Regardless of approach, an RFP should be
issued to ensure that the portal that provides
the best value is selected
- staff recommended that the RFP process is the best course of action; and that more
workshops would be required
In response to a suggestion that a “sandbox” environment be set up, staff responded that the interested local vendors could be contacted regarding the use of their hardware and software in order for them to perform a “proof of concept” presentation.
Following further discussion, Members directed that the staff recommendations should be formally adopted by Committee.
Moved by Regional Councillor B. O’Donnell
Seconded by Councillor S. Daurio
That the following recommendations be adopted:
1) In 2006, work with the Region to create the governance quickly, define portal requirements and begin implementation in 2006
2) The process should be open to other OneYork partners at the right time
3) Focus should be on phase 1 of external portal first, with planning only for internal portal for 2006
4) Regardless of approach, an RFP should be issued to ensure that the portal that provides the best value is selected.
CARRIED
2. 2006
SCHEDULE OF MEETINGS
Members had before them the dates for the
2006 meetings of the Information Technology Sub-Committee: All meetings, unless otherwise noted, will be
held on Tuesdays prior to Part A of Development Services Committee, beginning
at
Moved by Councillor S. Daurio
Seconded by Regional Councillor J. Jones
That the following dates be confirmed for meetings of the IT Sub-Committee for 2006, which will begin at 9:00 a.m. prior to Part A of the Development Services Committee:
Tuesday,
January 24
Tuesday,
February 21
Tuesday,
March 21 (Due to the March Break, this will occur on a Council day)
Tuesday,
April 18
Tuesday,
May 16
Tuesday,
June 20
July – No meeting
August – No meeting
Tuesday, September 19
Tuesday, October 17
Tuesday, November
21
December – At the call of the Chair
CARRIED
3. DATE OF NEXT MEETING
The next meeting of the IT Sub-Committee is scheduled for Tuesday, February 21, 2006.
4. PAPERLESS
AGENDA SOFTWARE DEMONSTRATIONS
Committee was reminded about the scheduling of work sessions to give Members of Council an opportunity to work hands on with the two software systems that were demonstrated recently for the proposed paperless agenda initiative. Staff advised that dates and locations are being explored.
It was noted that a number of technical questions were raised when the two vendors gave their presentations to General Committee on January 23rd, and these would be answered at the hands-on workshops, along with comments on matters relating to virtual storage capabilities; links available; and the use of personal blackberries.
Members
were asked to contact Mr. John Swan, Manager, Client Delivery, with any
additional queries.
ADJOURNMENT
The Information Technology Sub-Committee meeting adjourned at the hour of 10:15 a.m.